Unbelievably friendly and warm staff who gladly gave expert travel advice and recommendations that only a Roman would normally be privy to.
- Loic Diels

I LOVE this website and will gladly recommend it to anyone headed this way. Nothing disappointed us!
- Mary-Iris Taylor

I have been using Cross-Pollinate for about 10 years now. The service is consistently great and I can always find just the kind of apartment we like, at the right price.
- Hirani Himona

A really great idea - with a network of hand picked little rooms/guesthouses. If only we could have this in more city destinations!
- Zoe Buck

I love Cross-Pollinate and every time we go to a new city I look to see whether they have some accommodations over there.
- Arantza Aldea

The two places I have stayed at from Cross-Pollinate have been among the best across Europe. Highly recommended.
- Nicholas Burn

Thanks a lot to Cross-Pollinate for the opportunity to experience a city as an insider! We really enjoyed our stay in Rome and Venice and look forward to more.
- Tatiana Marchenko

Cross-Pollinate was very helpful when the owner of the B&B wanted to charge us for the baby under 2 y o. It would have been difficult without them since the owners did not speak any english.
- Yulia Pichugina

This was our only stay with a C-P apartment and we were very pleased with the entire process. Will look to use them again on our next Europe trip!
- Anthony Giglio

Great web site and quick response from the team a CP made the whole experience easy and hassle free. I have already recommended CP to quite of few of my airline industry colleagues and I'm sure they will make use of their excellent service.
- Shane Pickles

Cross-Pollinate was extremely helpful! They found us a place to stay in our price range when many other places of business couldn't help us.
- Sarah Seminutin

Cross-Pollinate was very easy to use, and it is so much better to stay in places like these than big corporate hotels; you get a much better feel for the place.
- Kaspar Deane

Very straight forward. Well done. Definitely would use it again. Love these type of alternatives to hotels!
- John White

Cross-Pollinate was fantastic and easy to use. We used Cross-Pollinate to book a room in Florence (the second leg of our trip), which was everything I thought it would be. We have recommended Cross-Pollinate to our friends.
- Barbara Carlin

Cross-Pollinate are great - the descriptions are accurate and they are very responsive to questions.
- Dominique Bayne

Cross Pollinate was just the best. I had tried a couple of places before coming upon them. As soon as I sent the first email I stopped looking for any more websites. I just wish they expanded to every city in Europe. Their knowledge, helpfulness, etc. was second to none.
- Caroline Collis

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Where to chill out on a rainy day in Rome

It’s early January and raining outside.

Rome is a city that really needs to be visited on foot, out in the open. From March through October, and especially in the summer when the sun doesn’t go down until after 9pm or even later, Rome is full of places to sit outside and people watch; have a drink and simply soak up the ambiance and the view of beautiful colored buildings crumbling away. That’s when this city is at its best.

When it’s cold and wet and grey – it’s another story. That’s when I truly feel the shortage of “cafe culture” – cute little places to just sit and kill time, perhaps read some of my book or catch up on some emails on my phone. Most restaurants are closed between meal times, and when they are open, they’re generally full of customers eating, and/or not really designed for the lingerer who wants to just have a tea and maybe something sweet. There are many bars with outdoor seating that are inviting, but most are dismal and boring indoors, designed for the quick caffé/espresso-at-the-bar crowd. And Roman bars aren’t the place for tea time.

Here’s a few exceptions, scattered around the city:

1. 2Periodico Cafe – Via Leonina 77, Monti – open all day

Located in the hip neighborhood of Monti, between Termini station and the Colosseum, this eclectic little place was converted from what was once a car mechanic. The Monti area was recently used for shooting in Woody Allen’s “To Rome with Love”, due to its quaint, cobblestone streets and ivy covered buildings. For Italian speakers, this is a good review from the Puntarella Rossa blog. Or connect with them through their facebook page.

Once Rome’s oldest chocolate factory, opened in 1923, S.a.i.d is a restaurant and chocolate shop. Also a good place in the winter to enjoy a hot chocolate. Overpriced hot chocolate, but great atmosphere.

Located in a 16th century piazza with the Fontana delle Tartarughe (Turtle Fountain). This ‘salotto’ in the Jewish Ghetto is a good place to park it on one of their cushy couches, drink a prosecco (Venetian sparkling wine) and listen to someone play the piano (if the grumpy bar guy allows it).

One of my favorite places on Cross-Pollinate is also here in the ghetto, the Casa al Portico.

Half restaurant and half ‘salotto’, this place is very un-Roman in all the right ways. Located where there’s virtually no other night life, this spot will make you instantly feel like you’re in the know.